The Ol' College Try: CLOSED

FaithsVegWorkout

Ok, so there are 16 of us . . .but that's ok.

faithsvegworkout
alz139
Dannygirl86
cabul3
T0RIEELIZABETH
kmcginley613
KS_4691
wallspoon
albragg
bprague
meliturtlee
sweetsapphire85
jeniineko
ebelliss
lovelyfacex3
omid990

I would like for us to start thinking about what are the possible obstacles to success with our health plans this coming semester.

Then, I would like for us to start thinking about how to negate those obstacles. Feel free to friend each other as you see fit.

jeniineko

Well, I think one of the main obstacles dealing with college is the food offered on campus. A lot of time you don't know exactly what's put into it. Also, it's rather tempting to eat out for most people, especially when you have one of those roommates or friends who constantly wants to go out or order in.

As for the first obstacle, I bought fresh fruit, low fat milk, and a small blender so I can make healthy smoothies. I also am trying to spend more money buying off campus food that is healthier. (& the few healthy options that exist on campus.)

((The hard part will be the cafeteria is closed these first two weeks I'm here early for camp, and our tiem schedule is very strict. Since the lunches are catered these first two weeks, I'll have to hope they're healthy. I'm also going to try and pack some healthier options in my bag.))

As for the eating out problem, it works out easy for me. Our Pizza place's lease is up and not renewed, so, no pizza from them, and our Chinese/Japanese restaurant caught on fire, so they're currently closed for couple of months.

However, I think its also avoiding the food itself, and of course, eating small amounts of it. Eating healthier options is also rather good. For example, I try and order sushi instead of a giant portion of General Tso's. The portion is smaller and sushi is generally healthier than large chinese dishes.

Lastly, sticking to the everyday workout plan. I'm going to try and start the 30DS soon, so if anyone else would like to start around the same time, let me know. (I just want to start sometime after Wed.) It's easier in a group. I'm also hoping to join one of the campus's fitness classes depending on what's compatible with my school schedule. I know loads of homework can get in the way, but this year I'm going to try and take breaks by going to the gym. I think this will help my health and my homework!

FaithsVegWorkout

I'm a commuting student, so for me it's not cafeteria food that's the issue, but I can see how it would be having seen the crap they offer. For me it's that I get so obsessed with studying that I sacrifice everything else-social life, laundry, occasionally showers (eek). BUT, this time when I made my study schedule (yes, I have one), I made sure to include exercise time, and enough time to workout, get a shower, get a snack, and get to class.

omid990

luckily for me, my school has a fantastic selection of healthy foods and small snacks. my problem lies with going out: first drinking and then all of the food consumed when drunk.

ebelliss

Bump so I can have this saved in my topics

FaithsVegWorkout

luckily for me, my school has a fantastic selection of healthy foods and small snacks. my problem lies with going out: first drinking and then all of the food consumed when drunk.

Ok, so how to make that not happen? Does this mean not going out drinking for you? Maybe limiting the drinking or planning ahead for it by having a good hard workout the day of?

sweetsapphire85

For me my obsticals are being a commuter student I drive about an hour to get to school each way and we have no cafeteria, just vending machines (and you know what you find in those!) So I am going to have to pack my lunches/snacks accordingly for an 8-10 hour day. I did buy a lunch box cooler and cooler packs, but i think it's going to come down to shopping on the weekends for the food and taking a few hours on saturday/sunday cutting, chopping, sorting, bagging everything so at 7am there is no thought involved in picking up a container and shoving it in to that box and going.

Exercise time is also another issue for me. I'm taking 3 graduate level classes and 3 days of internship a week. This doesn't include laundry, grocery shopping, or other family obligations, so for me that would always be the first thing moved out of the schedule to accommodate. This is more of a scheduling issue as I am a night owl and like to stay up later and get an extra hour of sleep in the morning. It's going to be a will power issue of forcing myself to stay accountable and get up and to the gym by 9am one day a week and going to the gym 2 nights a week after my internship hours. So the plan is for the alarms to go off extra early so I'm still winning and getting a little extra sleep (tricking myself) and having a duffel bag in my car and not allowing myself to head home the other 2 days a week until at least a 30-45 minute work out is done.

FaithsVegWorkout

For me my obsticals are being a commuter student I drive about an hour to get to school each way and we have no cafeteria, just vending machines (and you know what you find in those!) So I am going to have to pack my lunches/snacks accordingly for an 8-10 hour day. I did buy a lunch box cooler and cooler packs, but i think it's going to come down to shopping on the weekends for the food and taking a few hours on saturday/sunday cutting, chopping, sorting, bagging everything so at 7am there is no thought involved in picking up a container and shoving it in to that box and going.

I hear ya with the commute. Is there a microwave on campus to use? I make a batch of soup sometimes and freeze it in small containers. It helps keep everything else cold, and melts a good bit by the time it is time to eat.

sweetsapphire85

That is a smart idea, I never thought about freezing soups. I'm not a huge cook but i'm guessing i should learn. I know the canned ones have lots of sodium in them that I should avoid, so I'm going to not go that route. haha

We do have a microwave so that would be easy enough to heat up! Thanks for the great idea!

meliturtlee

I am a commuting student as well, my problem is just bad eating habits and lack of exercise. I have yet to start school but I'm getting a head start. This week I planned/ grocery shopped for the whole week so I know what I'm eating exactly. I joined a boot camp in the am so I can clear my schedule for studying, social events and basically life.

kmcginley613

bump for later!

nlynnm716

Hi! Is it still possible for me to get into this? I am going back to school next Thursday. I don't want all efforts to completely go out the window.

lovelyfacex3

I think what you said holds true: Friends or classmates who eat out regularly or order in ... I think my roommate ordered chinese at least once a week last year and I was always tempted to join her.

My school's cafeteria has some healthy options ... but again, I don't know if its cooked in oil or smothered in butter. You can't ever tell for sure! I feel like I'll just be eating salads with dressing on the side. It'll be annoying but maybe I'll just cook my own food. My dorm does have a small kitchen. It's a possibility.

Like a previous poster mentioned, drinking and binge eating is an issue for me. I think I'll be cutting all alcohol out of my diet. It's a social stimulant but ... it's just not worth it!!

FaithsVegWorkout

It's a social stimulant but ... it's just not worth it!!

Well, if you really think you're going to want to drink, just work it into your calories, and drink slow! I'm tempted to have a drink tonight myself.

kmcginley613

My biggest problem is alcohol... at Penn State "there is nothing to do but drink" as they say.. literally all my friends drink.
I am cutting back to drinking once a week.. not only good for my health but for my hardest year in school:)

ebelliss

i agree with the drinking problem...and all the eating that goes along with that hahaa i guess i'm just going to have to find some self control!

also a lot of my friends are big fans of ordering pizza or sushi or chinese EVERY single night. I just cannot eat like that anymore. its frustrating to have that temptation all the time, but being on MFP has given me a lot of willpower because I have all you guys to report back to! and i don't want to be embarrassed of my diary lol

kmcginley613

ya the eating along with the drinking is the worse.. glad they got rid of the taco bell by my apt hahaa

FaithsVegWorkout

I really like to snack while I study. So, I need to learn to snack on veggies instead of crackers. As for the drinking, I don't drink at all during the semester, but it's because I'm very sensitive to alcohol. It kind of lingers with me and makes it harder for me concentrate with studying.

sweetsapphire85

I had times that i drank in college but i made sure it was the weekends i didn't have anything else going on school related so i had time to recover. I've heard that alcohol does something to your body for the 24-48 hours later that does not allow you to impact your body's fat cells (so no matter how much you exercise in the next 2 days you won't really see progress with your fat % etc) I'm not sure how true it is. I honestly don't know if i would have drank less back then when if i knew i was self sabotaging.

Even now I'll get a bottle of beer if I go out and sip it but I will make sure to refill it with water or order some drink that is clear so I can pretend it's alcohol so I don't get the pressure from my friends and spoiling their fun.

As for the eating while pulling all nighters I think there was a book called the dorm room diet (author's last name was Oz i remember) who said when doing that pre package your snacks in small baggies (like 1 bag with a vegetable, 1 with tortilla chips/crackers, 1 baggie of chocolate chips and measure them out. But every hour-hour and a half you choose the baggie and can munch while you work. Haven't tried it yet since i just read it after joining this site and haven't had one yet. Not sure how well i could stick with it but seems logical.

wallspoon

Last year I was a commuting student and actually packing lunches and snacks was my greatest weakness. Thankfully I'm living a 15 minute walk away this year so I'll be able to head home for lunch some days. Hopefully I'll actually stick to this because the cafeteria food at my school is unhealthy and delicious.

Another major problem is drinking and 2 am drunk fast food trips. And eating out on weekends. And every time we go out in general, even if it is only for shopping.

Timing is another reason I ate so terribly last year (seriously, at one point I would put a tiny bit of frozen vegetables in mr.noodles and declare it healthy). One of my classes is 5 hours and I'm on my feet the entire time (which I suppose is good for me). We get a break and everyone uses that time to go to the cafeteria since the break is only 5 minutes or so. I'm frequently up until very early in the morning doing work or I'm out filming projects for school (and the last thing you think about is eating healthy then, especially if it's a large group of people).

Finally, the only grocery store near me is absolutely terrible for produce and meat, and there are no fruit/veg stores or butchers around. And my budget is only $50/month for groceries.

So what am I going to do? I'm going to try my best to not be lazy and actually pack food. I'm going to resist the cafeteria as best I can. I'll have at least 30 minutes of walking every day, but the gym at school is also free so I'm going to go in my breaks. I'm going to get insanely good at finding the last decent fruits and vegetables in the store. And I'm considering cooking only vegetarian (and eating meat only when I'm out) to not only save money on groceries, but also fix the problem of the selection the grocery store has.

Sorry this was so long!

FaithsVegWorkout

Even now I'll get a bottle of beer if I go out and sip it but I will make sure to refill it with water or order some drink that is clear so I can pretend it's alcohol so I don't get the pressure from my friends and spoiling their fun.

Great idea!

As for the eating while pulling all nighters I think there was a book called the dorm room diet (author's last name was Oz i remember) who said when doing that pre package your snacks in small baggies (like 1 bag with a vegetable, 1 with tortilla chips/crackers, 1 baggie of chocolate chips and measure them out. But every hour-hour and a half you choose the baggie and can munch while you work. Haven't tried it yet since i just read it after joining this site and haven't had one yet. Not sure how well i could stick with it but seems logical.

Yeah, I think that's what I'm going to have to do. I'm going to need a big lunch bag!!!

FaithsVegWorkout

Ok, so my first mini challenge before this even starts. . .

Answer a little survey!

Major:
Year in School:
Does your school have a gym?:
If so, have you ever used your school's gym?:

ebelliss

fun!

Major: Health Sciences (so I should probably start being healthy haha)
Year in School: Sophomore
Does your school have a gym?: Yes
If so, have you ever used your school's gym?: Yes, I actually used the gym a lot last year so exercise wasn't really my problem. FOOD and ALCOHOL were my problems!!

sweetsapphire85

Major: Social Work (Mental health concentration)
Year in School: 2nd year of graduate school
Does your school have a gym?: Yes
If so, have you ever used your school's gym?: Not as of yet, I pay $9 for a trip down there in tolls and parking each time where I pay $10/MONTH at my gym up here and it's not an hour commute. ( I may go on mondays when i'm there all day if my foot ever heals up though)

omid990

Major: neuroscience
Year in School: senior (fourth year)
Does your school have a gym?: Yes
If so, have you ever used your school's gym?: yep! it's actually a pretty good gym.

kmcginley613

Major: Forensic Science
Year in School: 5th year (doing an integrated program where I get my BS and Master's at the same time)
Does your school have a gym?: a few:).. they are pretty awesome too
If so, have you ever used your school's gym?: yes, just came from it! haha

wallspoon

Major: Television Production
Year in School: 2nd and last, except that I plan on doing a 4 year program when I graduate.
Does your school have a gym?: yes
If so, have you ever used your school's gym?: Not the one at my campus (the school has 7 campuses).

meliturtlee

Major: Math w/ Emphasis in Finance
Year in School: 3rd, Junior
Does your school have a gym?: Yes
If so, have you ever used your school's gym?: No. I would feel too self conscious. I don't like the whole social and hook up aspect of gyms and I feel like uni gyms would be like that times 10

FaithsVegWorkout

Ok, I guess I should do mine too

Major: Mathematics
Year in School: sophomore
Does your school have a gym?:yes
If so, have you ever used your school's gym?:Not yet. My previous school had a gym, but I never used it because they require you to have a gym orientation, and I didn't have the time or inclination. I'm planning on using my school's gym 2 days a week, and my neighborhood gym on the weekends.

FaithsVegWorkout

Major: Math w/ Emphasis in Finance
Year in School: 3rd, Junior
Does your school have a gym?: Yes
If so, have you ever used your school's gym?: No. I would feel too self conscious. I don't like the whole social and hook up aspect of gyms and I feel like uni gyms would be like that times 10

Math geeks unite! I hear ya. I used to really hate gyms and refused to go. Now, I just don't care. I'm not there to make friends. However, since I'm an old married lady, I'm going to like a creepy cougar around all the guys nearly half my age LOL.

meliturtlee

@faithsvegworkout: Math whoo hoo

I have a gym membership and I will get over my fear and anxiety of the gym, it's a goal but I can't promise I'll join my campus gym.